Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will offer his apology to the families of victims who died in the Kanishka bombing tragedy at Toronto's Humber Park Memorial on Wednesday evening.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and India's High Commissioner to Canada S M Gavai will accompany the prime minister.
In a banner headline story, the Toronto Star claimed to have acquired an advanced copy of Harper's speech that he will deliver to the families. The daily has quoted from Harper's speech to the families as saying: 'We are sorry.'
"The destruction of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, was, and remains, the single worst act of terrorism in Canadian history," Harper's address will reportedly say.
The Canadian government has offered to apologise after 25 years of the tragedy.
Brian Mulroney, who was the Conservative prime minister when the Air India flight 182 was bombed by Sikh terrorists, had then sent a letter of condolence to then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, though all the 329 victims were not Indians.
Also, the letter had absolved of any Canadian responsibility in the incident, by indicating that the flight, the victims and the perpetrators were Indians.
The successive Liberal governments also did not even agree to meet the victims' families and were opposed to appointing any public enquiry.
During the general election of 2006, Harper promised that if he was elected, he would order a public inquiry into the Air India tragedy and adhered to his promise when he named former Supreme Court Justice John Major as the chief commissioner.
Justice Major released his report, running to five volumes and over 4,000 pages, earlier this week. The report criticised the failure of the law enforcement agencies, lack of communication between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and their continued errors even during post bombing investigations.
"We know only that terrorism is an enemy with a thousand faces, and a hatred that festers in the darkest spots of the human mind," Harper's address reportedly says.
"This was evil. Perpetrated by cowards. Despicable. Senseless. And vicious," the report added.
When Harper met the families in his office at the House of Commons buildings in Ottawa on June 17, he had said the families would get additional compensation.
Harper will also announce an ex-gratia payment to the families on Wednesday evening, said the Canadian daily.
The Toronto Star reported that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is arriving in Toronto on June 26 for the G20 Summit, might visit the Air India memorial in Toronto.
Image: Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Air India memorial when it was opened in 2007 | photograph: Ajit Jain
